My site for following Online Drama and Webseries ...

Started this blog:- http://storygas.blogspot.com/

Here's more from the ABOUT ME page on the site:-


In 2008, I was a writer on Season 2 of the Online Drama KateModern: storylining 157 and scripting 74 webisodes in six months. The series gained 66 million video hits - and a community response so seemingly disproportionate to the short daily episodes we were delivering.

Something else was going on, and I was getting first hand experience (guided by the path blazed by Miles Greg and Amanda - The lonelygirl15 Creators) - a transaction with the audience which is vastly different from the one we're used to in TV, Radio and Film production.

The series was being produced while the audience was able to comment, contact, contribute to and discuss - and feedback from that community was incorporated back into the series. Which, in turn, strengthened and grew the community around it.

Since the show came to an end in June this year, I have given talks on what it was like working on KateModern, and "Writing Online Narrative" more generally - and found myself referencing the same shows, links and sites. It seemed crazy not to have a place where I could 'bank' those, and update them with more news and links as I stumble upon them myself.

Welcome to StoryGas!

The posts are biased towards...

- Online narrative

(rather than factual or entertainment series,
such as "Black Cab Sessions"
StSanders' surreal genius Shreds,
or BBC News' "The Box")

- Live action

(rather than animations like Salad Fingers
or Charlie The Unicorn)

- 'Open' shows

(produced and uploaded while the audience are (or were) able to contribute, rather than 'closed' series which are completely produced, done and dusted, before uploading).

This is probably the biggest difference between "Online Narrative" and say, a TV show on, say, BBC iplayer. The definitions of 'ongoing' are still bedding down - a 'closed' one-off show such as Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog could be seen as part of the ongoing community around Joss Whedon's content, or the completed series of The Guild as part of a larger building of a community around that show...


So this is the blog. In the meantime I'm working on 3 commissioned online shows, and hope to share gossip from them with you here as they progress.

Feel free to say HI by clicking on anywhere marked "Comments" -- there are already others out there writing and producing online shows... with exactly the same questions as you -- we can help each other out with the answers!

Or email direct - storygas at gmail dot com

http://storygas.blogspot.com/

Hedz Nominated for 3 BAFTA Awards

HEDZ - the CBBC/BBC Scotland sketch show has been nominated for three BAFTA Awards
- Best Entertainment, Childrens',
- Best TV Show, Kids Vote,
- and best Childrens' Programme, Scotland (a Scottish BAFTA!).

Simon Cowell says: 
"AND I SHALL BE THE JUDGE!"

http://www.bafta.org/awards/childrens/nominations-childrens-awards-in-2008,593,BA.html

http://www.baftascotland.co.uk/Awards-2008/nominations

Divide and Conga: 4 star reviews times three...

Four star reviews from The Scotsman, The Times, and this is London, for John Gordillo: Divide & Conga, the Edinburgh Fringe 2008 Comedy show written with... John Gordillo.

The Scotsman
REVIEW HERE

The Times
REVIEW HERE

this is London, sorry, thisislondon
REVIEW HERE


Here's The Times review in vision(!)




And THE GUARDIAN tiping the show for a surprise nomination...
REVIEW HERE


UPDATE:

Guardian Review
REVIEW HERE

Fest Magazine - 4 stars
REVIEW HERE

DIVIDE AND CONGA Gets ***** (5 stars)

2008 Edinburgh Fringe Show written with/for/around John Gordillo -(and its own steady stream of updates here...),
gets a coveted FIVE STAR review from chortle.co.uk today.

It is a highly charged, beautifully written piece of theatre...
It is moving, inspiring and important and something that everyone should make a point of seeing.

The full review is here.

And all posts on the show here.

Edinburgh Show Launches

Written stand-up material for John Gordillo's tour and 2008 Edinburgh Fringe show, DIVIDE AND CONGA.

It runs at the Pleasance Joker Dome until 25th August.

Development

Development work (some of which covered by NDA's) includes...

WOOSTA AND DONG
- Dirty Negative/Caboom Productions
Writer/Producer - Adult puppet comedy show
- see WOOSTA AND DONG's site

ONLINE COMEDY DRAMA
- WHIZZKID ENTERTAINMENT for bebo
Writer - Online comedy drama web series:
Outline and treatment.

ONLINE COMEDY DRAMA
- for a UK Mobile Phone Network
Writer - Online comedy drama series outline and treatment for mobile phone network

CELEBRITY SQUARES
- So Television for FIVE
Producer - Comedy gameshow.
Guests include BRIGITTE NIELSEN, JOAN RIVERS and COOLIO.
Music by BIG GEORGE







PALOOKAVILLE
- So Television for CHANNEL FOUR
Producer - Gameshow shot on location, hosted by RUSSELL BRAND

THE MORNING AFTER SHOW
- Talkback Thames for CHANNEL FOUR
Writer/Producer - Took from pilot to series in six weeks flat - see THE MORNING AFTER SHOW

Edinburgh Pre - view... Writing stand-up comedy.

This is what writing with a stand-up actually looks like. 

There's probably some hints in there about some of the topics coming up in John Gordillo's 2008 Edinburgh Show, "DIVIDE AND CONGA".

We've been working together over the year in sessions that look much like this. 
Probably best I don't share what they sound like - saying wrong things out loud in a bid to get to the things John wants to say in public.

A mate once best dubbed this process as performers gaining "mouth rights" over the material. 

One month left for some more 'mouth wrongs'...
Preview gigs are linked here.

KateModern - Out on a high

After 322 episodes... 66 million cumulative video hits... 6 million bebo profile views... Two BAFTA Craft and WEBBY nominations and a Broadcasting Press Guild Award...

Season 2 of KateModern comes to an end this week. It has been a phenomenal experience writing episode scripts and storylining on this show - the best writers room experience with Luke Hyams and Lawrence Tallis - and a frontline lesson in what works for this genre and medium.
There is a true difference between online drama and "TV show broadcast on the web".

The season finale of 12 videos in 12 hours (together with the entire KateModern series 1 and 2) can be found here:-
www.lg15.com/katemodern
and here:-
www.bebo.com/katemodern

The wiki maintained by the fans of KateModern and lonelygirl15 is here:-
http://www.lg15.com/lgpedia/index.php?title=Image:KM_Portal_Season_2.jpg

Here is a GMTV behind-the-scenes shoot:-




And an article in today's SUN.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv

All my KateModern links can be found by clicking on here.

And I'll be talking at the SCREENWRITERS' FESTIVAL 2008 in Cheltenham on Wednesday 2nd July in the session: Online and Multi-Platform narratives.

Neil Mossey Online writing biog

From time to time, I am asked to speak at conferences and presentations about what it was like writing on the web series lonelygirl15 and KateModern. These events usually ask for a biography to appear in their brochure.
Here is my online writing biog...

Neil grew up in Central London, and worked solely in television and radio before writing on Season 2 of the daily interactive web drama KateModern (storylining over 26 weeks, and scripting 74 webisodes). The series ended in July 2008 clocking up 66 million video views, the largest UK online production to date.

As a comedy producer at the BBC he was responsible for developing new formats and drama in the Comedy Entertainment department with writers and performers(including “Stockport So Good They Named It Once” starring Dominic Monaghan and Jason Done, “Head Over Heels” starring Daniela Denby-Ashe, and co-writing the BBC’s first daily comedy series “The Recommended Daily Allowance with John Gordillo”).

His freelance writer, script editor, and producer credits include "My Parents Are Aliens" (itv1), "Freefonix" (BBC One), "Blackout" (Channel 4), "SuperNormal" (itv1), "The Worst Witch" (itv1), "Hedz" (BBC One), and "The Morning After Show" (Channel 4).

www.neilmossey.com

Fourth Hedz Better Than One

BBC TWO this week transmit the sketch show HEDZ for the FOURTH TIME!
(Writer on this last summer).



"Thirrd re-run make Gordon mad!"

Hurrah for us and BBC Scotland.

N.B. If you're here, you'll probably be interested in this site the BBC are beta testing- It's a permanent home for a list of upcoming and past transmissions of BBC shows.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes